Smokescreen
by The-Queen-of-Fantasy
Summary: Spiderboy isn't the only teenaged superhero in the game but he is the newest Avenger who needs some protection, a task for which Tony Stark enlists Cassidy. Maybe her carefree heart should have put up protection of its own against the endearing smirk of Peter Parker. MCU set post-CW. Peter\OC
1. Chapter 1

**Homecoming is almost here, please enjoy the beginning of something I've had in the works for awhile!**

Midmorning Washington, D.C. was at least able to hold its breath on sidewalk traffic enough to allow Cassidy a leisurely walking pace. There was no breeze in the air, leaving the sweat on her back and neck to try and coax her temperature down. She'd kicked her own ass at the gym, pushing for one more set of squats and an extra lap.

The downtown facility had still been swarming when she left it to walk the few blocks back home and the gleaming apartment complex allowed the elevator to deposit her straight into her own kitchen and into the excited pawing of Rambo. Three years old and already massive, the Rottweiler was ditzy and loving despite his large frame.

She hadn't lived in that place long, but already had a designated spot in the corner to toss her gym bag before she made headway for the freezer. Tossing Rambo a bit of meat and grabbing a bowl of grapes, she closed the freezer door and nearly screamed when she saw a man standing a few feet away.

"Who the hell are you and what are…" she trailed off as recognition kicked in and it seemed impertinent to keep reaching for the pepper spray on the counter.

Tony Stark in all his suave suited glory was leaning on the wall with a half-eaten apple in his hand.

"Ok, ok," she steeled her own buzzing nerves before furrowing her brows and addressing him again. "Um, how'd you get in here?"

"Most people are more starstruck than you, kid. Told the doorman I needed to talk to you and he couldn't open the door fast enough. And Fido here was only too happy to chase a bone into the other room."

The grin spread on her cheeks like lightning. She faintly remembered that this happened to another kid one time, and now the man behind Iron Man fame had come to her, merely weeks after the showdown in Germany. She pushed a few frizzing curls out of her dark face and plopped down on a stool expectantly.

"So, what can I help Tony Stark with?"

"You are Miss Callahan, correct?" Tony lazily walked closer, eyeing her critically. His words posed questions but his tone said show-off. "Of the Callahan diplomatic family? Nineteen, not in school, comfortably on your own, a little vigilante work when you can?"

Cassidy humbly lowered her eyes but couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Alright, so you've got a file on me."

"Maybe. Tell me more about this thing with having powers."

"Well, smoke. I can manipulate it and sometimes produce it if my adrenaline's pumping. It's useful for a sneak attack." She would have continued, but it was clear from his gaze that he already knew those things.

"Any monikers? Superhero name? Anything other than plastering Callahan across headlines?"

She sat up a little taller, not liking the insinuation that she could be reckless with her work, even though she knew full well that she sometimes was. "I'm not asked about one a lot, but I usually use Gray Blitz when I am."

"Right. Cause smoke is gray and…yeah got it." He bit into the apple and nodded definitively, but then jumped into the questions once again. "And so why exactly aren't you in school anymore?"

"I can intern at Capitol Hill anytime I want, and it's easier to stop robberies when I'm not worried about exams and research papers." Cassidy took her own passive-aggressive bite of a grape while trying to stay positive.

Tony Stark was known for being kind of a dick, but at least she'd been lucky enough to be sought out by him, right? Her powers weren't spectacular, but she was keeping D.C. a little safer from robberies and assaults. Apparently the big leagues were calling her name now, a thought that perked her back up.

"Were you this tough on the other kid when recruiting him?"

Tony's eyebrows shot up. "So that's gotten around to all the disgruntled teens that can do weird things?"

"Of course! Word travels fast."

"Well, this is kinda about that other kid."

Her head tilted, much like Rambo's when he was puzzled. "What about him? Spiderman, right? Is he fighting something else that I need to help with?"

"Not entirely. But he's kinda famous now, or infamous as it may be, after fighting alongside me. It's not the safest situation, I can tell you from experience."

There was something he hadn't told her yet, and being in the dark left her lips twisted in confusion.

He picked back up with, "Look, I need the kid to have someone there with him that knows he's Spiderboy and can help him out if he needs it. I'm just a little too busy for it." He was talking with his hands now, a surefire way to make sure she understood. And understand she did.

She deflated almost entirely.

"So, babysitting." Her voice was flatter than a dead guy's heart monitor. "You want me for an exaggerated babysitting gig."

Tony rested a hand on her shoulder. "Just listen to me. I need you there, you're competent enough to help him avoid some horrid targeted death. Be friends with him, maybe you can even work on your fighting experience along with him."

Being slow to true anger was one of her virtues, and it kept her voice from raising to a shout. "Why not sic Captain America or one of the spies on this guy?"

"His name's Peter Parker, don't put him too high on a pedestal. We've got the safety of the world to worry about and you're my closest bet to witness protection for him." Clearly Tony had been expecting a little reluctance because he continued the convincing. "This is your stepping stone into the limelight, Callahan. Work on your fighting skills some more while keeping an eye on him and the next time I need a sneak attack I'll call you first."

Cassidy pursed her lips and studied the vast amounts of space left undecorated on the powder blue walls. She still had boxes of all those foreign decorations from her parents left to unpack.

"If I said yes, where would I be going?"

"Queens in New York. Change of scenery would be good for you. D.C. most of your life, right?" He clapped her shoulder again, smiling prematurely at his victory. "And look, I've even got incentives. Monthly stipend of a young Hollywood starlet and you can bring the dog as long as he doesn't eat the Spiderling."

As if on cue, Rambo traipsed back in and pushed his head into Cassidy's hand. She ruffled his ears and chewed on another few grapes as well as the offer.

The more she considered the gig, the more it contrasted with the relative quiet of her life for the past couple years. It promised time-consuming purpose, or at least more than repeated trips to the gym and regular crime fighting could offer.

"Yeah," she said to herself, then repeated louder for Tony to hear. "Yeah, I'll do it."

He flashed his press-worthy grin and took his keys out of his pocket. "Good woman, Callahan. I'll have you set up to start classes next Monday."

As if it was rehearsed, her mouth fell open and he swiveled back with an answer to her unasked question. "Yeah, you'll be going back to school. That's where Parker spends an admittedly grotesque amount of time. And do tell your parents you're moving but, uh, maybe leave out the real reason."

After a few more promises to take care of every aspect of the move, he whirled out of the door and left Cassidy with little more than a panting dog and lots of boxes to start packing.


	2. Chapter 2

Cassidy could have burned incense for how grateful she was to the academic gods that this Peter guy didn't go to a school with a uniform for every day. That would have been a dealbreaker, but thankfully she was allowed to slip on jeans and a t-shirt she'd sliced and diced into a tank top.

It felt weird carrying a backpack and even weirder being bounced around the school like a volleyball, one office to another trying to get things lined up for her first day. But finally, two full years after she'd taken leave from all schooling, she was pointed down the hallway toward a senior English class.

British literature at 8am, what could be better?

She rattled off that list in her head as she found a seat in the back of the classroom – walking Rambo, ordering pizza, catching some thief off guard. Roll call stopped her list and she waved a hand when blandly introduced as the new student.

It eventually came to the Ps and Cassidy nodded to herself when one Peter Parker called out "here" from a few seats away. His side profile matched the picture that Stark had sent her, if not a little more droopy-eyed with a case of the Mondays.

"So you're the little bugger," she murmured as everyone began slamming textbooks onto their desks.

At one point Peter turned to talk to the guy in the seat behind her and Cassidy was startled by his boyish countenance when seeing him head on. Hardened crime fighter he was not; he combed his hair like any other guy and had lips that broke easily into a small smile when he caught her brief gaze.

The near hour flew by and she was a few paces behind him out of the classroom. She knew from Stark's influence that she'd have her next class with Peter and this time he sat right in front of her. He gave another grin before Cassidy felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to face a blonde girl she'd seen in the office that morning.

"New kid, huh?"

Cassidy bounced a nod and crossed her legs into the aisle, preparing for the onslaught of small talk. "Yeah, very new. My dog's still convinced we're just on vacation."

"I'm Molly. Where you from?" Blonde used a bobbypin from one of her cluttered binders to pin away some loose strands.

"Hey, I'm Cassidy. I moved up from D.C, so I'm kinda used to all the subways."

"Was it hard to move in your senior year?" She seemed sweetly interested and Cassidy was glad for the practice with telling some white lies about her life.

She sat up straighter and tried to make sure Peter could hear her clearly. Building this background was key for keeping subtle tabs on him. "Yeah, but my dad's job made a really good offer for us. Seems nice here anyway."

It was a basic enough story that slid right under Spiderboy's radar as planned and she smiled proudly to herself as she began another doodle in her notebook, effectively ignoring whatever kind of science was happening on the whiteboard.

The only other distraction came when Peter dropped his pen and then two other pencils, the clatter dragging every eye to him where he quickly picked them up before his embarrassed blush spread too far.

How this guy stood toe-to-toe with the greats was beyond Cassidy.

The rest of the day went much of the same, with the exception of the couple classes she didn't have with Peter. Calculus and the art elective she was left to fend for herself, something she could see being an issue as math was never her strong point.

It had only taken one day at school for her to become dependent on the ringing bell again and she nearly pooled onto the floor when the final chime signaled her to get the hell out of dodge. After a few wrong turns down more monotonous hallways she found the one that housed her locker and dumped the day's worth of stuff inside.

The now-familiar face of Peter caught her eye down the hall and she slowly edged toward following him, having to pick up the pace to match his when he reached the sidewalk outside. D.C. had grown her accustomed to subway systems and so she easily followed him to the grimy underground.

Peter was bouncing around to music as he walked and Cassidy would have laughed if she wasn't trying to make sure he didn't see her. There was one second as they were bustling off the subway that she could've sworn his dark eyes found hers, but she let it slide. The intimidating man trying to sidle next to her was distracting enough and she had to make it look like quite the accident when she slammed her heel into his toes.

A brisk wind swished past her face as soon as she and Peter resurfaced at ground level, though taking a hard left in the next second let that wind blow her hair forward around her, a dark cloud that might actually work in her favor if he happened to glance her way again.

It was only a block and a half to their apartment complex and Cassidy stepped to the curb to tie her shoe and give ample time between their arrivals.

"Get outta the way!" a rough voice called right as a leg knocked into her and she stumbled before bolting upright.

The crowd was too thick for her to see the offender so she stuffed her hands in her pockets to put out the smoke threatening to drift from her palms. The neutral expressions around her were none the wiser to her misfortune and she had to keep walking as if it never happened.

Welcome to New York.

Finally the apartment complex that Peter lived in and Cassidy was weaseled into loomed above them and as Peter took the elevator, she opted for the stairs and made it to their floor just before him. She gave a polite smile and went to unlock her own door as he moved farther down the hall toward his apartment.

Rambo was thrilled to have company again and nearly knocked her over as they went to the kitchen. Cassidy had unpacked enough to locate her laptop and was about to type up some notes about her target when a knock sounded from the door.

She looked through the peephole and saw Peter Parker himself standing there bouncing on his toes and glancing around for clues. Cassidy's acting skills were about to be pulled out of her ass and so she confidently pulled open the door, having plastered on an innocent smile that Peter didn't notice.

"You're following me!" he cried.

She measured in at an inch shorter than him and so she was hardly intimidated. Caught by surprise, sure, but she managed to evenly say, "I don't know what you're talking about, we go to school together."

"But you just showed up today and in all of my classes!" He was trying to seem tougher than he actually was but the slight crack in his voice and excessive hand gestures told otherwise. "And then you follow me home and live just down the hall from me? No way that's an accident."

"It's really gotta be a coincidence, I'm sorry. My name's Cassidy, nice to meet you. I just moved up from D.C."

"My Aunt May hasn't told me about any new neighbors and believe me, she would've met your parents by now. I don't even see anyone else here! You're totally stalking me." Peter stood on his tiptoes to look over her into the apartment and nodded his head triumphantly.

Cassidy shrugged and apologized again, having to stifle a laugh at how well she was playing the game. "I really don't know what you're talking about."

Her cool deflections completely disarmed him and he shoved his hands in his pockets while glancing down. A sheepish grin dragged at one side of his mouth as he said, "Geez, um, nevermind about that. I'm really sorry, I can be paranoid sometimes."

Weeks later she still couldn't answer the question as to what it was that changed her mind at that moment. Was it his earnest eyes? The way he'd caught onto her game so soon? Did she just not want to play it so stealthy anymore? Whatever the case, it snapped something inside her and she called out to his retreating form.

"Wait! You're not wrong."

Peter swiveled, tugging out the one earbud he'd already put back in. "What did you say?"

"You were right, I am following you. Tony Stark sent me –"

The end of her sentence was warped into a muffled cry as Peter pushed them into her apartment and scanned up and down the hallway before slamming the door. After checking the peephole one more time, he turned to her with arms exasperatedly wide.

"You can't just talk about this stuff in the open! And what the hell do you mean you're following me?"

Cassidy let herself laugh this time and kneeled to pet Rambo who had come to see the commotion. She could have fun now that the hard part was over. "You should really trust your instincts more, Peter, people lie all the time."

"See, I tell people that but…" His eyes widened further despite the brightness of the afternoon sun filtering in through the window. "Wait, did I even tell you my name? That's a little creepy."

"Tell that to Mr. Stark. He's the one who sent me up here. You can sit down if you want, by the way," she added as she fell into the lounger.

Peter's bewildered form bowed up with renewed suspicion. "Why'd he send you? Was it really him? Are you just spying on me for that Accords thing that Captain America was fighting about? How do I know you're not some new bad guy…or girl, just trying to sneak in and make nice with the superhero in Queens? I'm not –"

He was rambling for the first of many times in her presence and so was caught off guard when Cassidy abruptly held out her phone. It only took him a moment to scroll through all the text messages and see that indeed the contact picture was Tony. He finally lowered himself onto her couch and ran a heavy hand through his hair.

"Well, at least Mr. Stark didn't forget about me."

"Far from it," she scoffed. "I saw him put my nickname as 'insurance' in his phone, he's protecting you like an asset."

Peter gave a peculiar glance. "Are you jealous?"

Cassidy waved his suspicion away and headed for her kitchen, not wanting to give him any such satisfaction. She called over her shoulder, "He also called you Spiderboy, so…no. Do you want anything to drink?"

He bounded excitedly after her, having clearly abandoned any thoughts that she wasn't on his side. "Wait, do you have powers, too?"

"Yep. Stark wasn't gonna send a civilian to watch you." Cassidy grabbed two sports drink from her fridge and swiveled back to him, her chest warming at the sight of his gawking. "I can create and manipulate smoke and I've trained MMA. I do for D.C. what you do for Queens. Or at least I did until I got called up here."

"Do you have a superhero name? And who says you can't still fight crime here?"

"Do you ever run out of questions?" she fired back but couldn't hide the sweet grin that bubbled up.

Peter gratefully took a swig of the drink and looked around at her kitchen furnishings, marveling at how much she had to work with. Stark had at least been sincere in his promise to set her up like minor royalty.

"I think I'm allowed to know everything about what the hell is going on."

Cassidy conceded. "I go by Gray Blitz and I figured I'd be too busy chasing you around to fight crime on my own. Are you suggesting we team up?"

With a sly shrug of his own and a playful scrape to his voice, he said, "I don't think it's a bad idea, but we'd have to work on your name. Gray Blitz is a little weird."

There was a new electricity in the room at the spark of his teasing and Cassidy regarded him with new interest. She had not been given a boring guy to watch, that's for sure, and banter was her favorite way to keep things fun.

"I'll let that slide because this is day one, but remember that I could hang you out to dry."

They traded questions for the rest of the afternoon, from home life to fighting experience to all the New York foods that Cassidy was apparently missing out on, as well as traded a few wry smiles and laughs. They agreed on most things, especially when it came to keeping Stark in the dark about their teaming up for a little while, and by the time Peter slipped out her door she had a new friend instead of a target.

Babysitting in Queens wasn't gonna be so bad after all.


	3. Chapter 3

_P: So you were joking when you said you'd never seen the Statue of Liberty before, right?_

 _P: Of course you were, your parents are diplomats. You've probably seen top secret stuff_

 _P: What about Area 51? Have you been there? Do the aliens look anything like us? Do you think Ms. Warren is one? No human can really say derivative that many times in one class_

Cassidy clamped her lips shut to keep from laughing in the back of calculus class. A spiral notebook full of fake doodled notes laid open on her desk with her phone on top, allowing her to read the repeated text notifications from Peter as he was in another class down the hall. Trading numbers had been their best idea so far and made 2:45pm come that much quicker every day.

 _C: Yeah I think her tally is up to 26 today_

 _P: About the number of times Flash gives a wrong answer too fast_

She slammed the phone upside down but couldn't keep the laugh in this time, barely twisting it into a strangled cough that still didn't save her.

"Cassidy, anything you want to share with the class?" Ms. Warren called, impatiently tapping on her podium. Thirty pairs of eyes who were also tiring of her new kid gag swiveled toward the back of the room and threatened to eat her alive.

"No ma'am, it's just my allergies. Can I go get some water?"

The teacher reluctantly agreed and with the giant plaque marked 'Hall Pass' in tow, Cassidy strutted down the locker-lined corridor and reopened the string of texts. If any teachers caught her she could still pull out the clueless stunt, though she wasn't sure how much longer those perks would last.

 _C: Second time you've almost gotten me in trouble. No way I'm letting you steal any of my snacks this afternoon_

All Peter sent back was a plain smiley face and she pocketed her phone with a scoff. It was late Friday morning of her first week in Queens and she didn't like how easily the rhythm of rushing from home to school and back came to her. The few days had been filled with so many new elements – new faces and new streets and new homework to bullshit – that she'd had more than her fill.

What wasn't filling, however, were the school lunches. And as she slid across the lunch table from Peter an hour later, he mentioned as much.

"I'm gonna have to tell Mr. Delmar to double load my sandwich after school, no way I'm eating this."

"I'm not gonna wait that long," Cassidy mused with an absentminded finger scrolling through a few feeds. "There's still boxes to unpack at the apartment and I haven't found my hand wraps yet and Rambo could use a walk –"

"You're skipping class?!" Peter's voice rose incredulously.

All of the raucous laughter in the cafeteria nearly eclipsed her own and she set her chin in her hand to reply, "Skipping, cutting, whatever you wanna call it. I just can't sit through more hours of Spanish and science this week."

His gaze bounced around her face like she'd grown a second nose. "You can't do that! You'll miss the notes."

"It's alright, Peter, I promise. I'll just see you later in the afternoon."

The benches rattled beneath them as they filled with more and more students. Cassidy ignored the whispers of a few passersby, the ones that had yet to drop the gossip about who she really was and why Peter was so comfortable with her already. Though she was surprised about the latter, too.

Peter was still very perplexed by her decision and stammered out his answer. "Well if you skip, I'll uh…I'll leave with you! And you can't let that happen, right?"

"It's not my job to make sure you stay in school, only that you stay out of trouble." But as soon as the words left her mouth she groaned because she knew exactly what the little shit across from her was gonna do.

"Then I'll go get into trouble," he quipped with a proud smirk, tone lowering to a daring whisper. "If you leave I'll go start fights in Brooklyn and how would you explain that to Mr. Stark?"

The heat behind her glare should have been enough to melt steel and yet he didn't falter one bit. She matched the cocky tilt of his chin when she tossed back, "You're determined to make this whole thing a power play, aren't you?"

"Whoa, hey, don't throw in all those diplomacy words into this. If Mr. Stark sent you to keep an eye on me, can't I do the same for you? Didn't your parents teach you to stay in school?"

"Peter."

"Cassidy." He countered, playing the name game right back.

He was dead serious and apparently willing to be seriously dead just to keep her in line. She should make Stark pay her a premium for her trouble with his little prodigy.

"Show me the best training spots this weekend and we'll call it even." She stepped away from the table to clean off her tray and surprised even herself when a stupidly wide grin cropped up on her face. It was still there when she returned to find Peter looking at her expectantly. "Ok fine, I won't skip class, let's get our asses to Spanish."

They were having a fine time dawdling in the hallway when the damned bell that now controlled Cassidy's life rang above them. Backpacks jostled loudly over their shoulders and Peter raced a few steps ahead of her as they slid into the classroom. Breathlessness tugged at their chests and Peter couldn't meet the eyes of any student glaring at the lagging pair. Cassidy's sweet grin couldn't save them, either, and the teacher simply shook his head.

"Peter, Cassidy, _tarde_!"

* * *

The blazing sun hung low in the sky by the time they made it back to the apartment complex and from the weariness tugging at her eyelids, you'd think Peter had just run Cassidy through an army bootcamp course.

But no, the only thing the afternoon had had in store for them was Peter being dragged into a science experiment with classmates and Cassidy getting grilled by the principal about her first week of classes at Midtown Science. He meant well but the man could drone on for forever, so she had even welcomed the grit of dirt clinging to her skin after she and Peter made their escape from the subway.

"First week. Rate it out of ten," Peter suggested.

Cassidy opened her eyes, having let them drop closed as they rode up the elevator to the seventh floor. The faint beat of nineties rap came tapping from the earbud hanging down Peter's chest to permeate the already comfortable silence.

"School, one. New York, seven. You?" She paused to raise an eyebrow. "Solid five. Good tour guide but troublesome target."

He tugged his other earbud out defiantly as the doors slid open to release them. "Wha- five! We haven't even done anything together yet! I mean, well, not together like that. You know, we've done activities together but not physical ones."

His embarrassment was endearing, though Cassidy would be lying if she said she wasn't about to tease him about that very word choice. But now she brushed past it.

"We've had class, studying together, homework together, and you've bought me a churro every other day. For those subjects I give you a five."

"But we haven't done any _real_ stuff like crime fighting yet, just wait till we can get our suits on and do the real thing this weekend. What do you wear when you go vigilante anyway? Do you have a costume?"

She would've answered but the door to Peter's apartment down the hall swung open and a brunette woman poked her head out and caught sight of them immediately. A bright smile spread her cheeks and she said, "I thought I heard you talking, Peter. Who's this?"

"It's, uh, this is my friend Cassidy from school. She just moved here 'cause she has the Stark internship, too. Cassidy, this is my Aunt May."

Cassidy slid Peter a quizzical glance but decided to play along and question him later. With a winning grin she remarked, "Yeah, that Tony Stark guy, hm? I'm Cassidy, nice to meet you. I actually just moved down the hall from you guys so I guess I was meant to run into Peter eventually."

"Are your parents home, honey? I'd like to meet them."

"Whoa, Aunt May –"

"It's ok, Peter," Cassidy placated, "I understand. But they actually work really weird hours and so aren't home right now and won't be for awhile. I'm sure you'll catch them at some point, Miss May."

The woman laughed and put a hand on her hip. "Oh god, please call me May. Do you kids wanna come do your homework in our apartment? I have some leftovers I can heat up. Do you like pasta, Cassidy? I know some kids nowadays are trying to do the whole gluten-free thing."

"Pasta sounds great, thanks."

Peter gave a small wave. "We'll be there in a minute, ok May?"

When they were alone again in the hallway, Peter jumped to give an answer before any questions could be asked. "The Stark internship is what we called it when Mr. Stark first came to see me and now it's what I call all the time I'm gone to do the Spiderman thing. I-I figure it'd just be easiest to say you had it, too."

"Pretty smart, especially since she was gonna start asking questions eventually. You're good at this undercover thing." She knocked her elbow into his and he returned the gesture, relief unwinding his shoulders. Maybe she should go easy on him sometimes, can't have the guy living in fear of her sarcasm.

After the moment stretched on she added, "Hey, I'm gonna feed Rambo and then I'll be right over."

It was a game to time herself how quickly she could get in and out of her apartment, from tossing on more comfortable pants to pulling some of Rambo's toys out into the open. With a kiss and pat to his furry head she shushed his whining.

"I know buddy, we're gonna have to skip the walk for today. I'll make it up to you."

It was a harder decision than normal to choose whether or not to even wear shoes for the short trek down the hall, but in the end she didn't want to offend any parents or contract an incurable disease. With her backpack still in tow and a deft knock to the correct door, May let Cassidy into the cozy apartment.

"You can go ahead into Peter's room, it's straight back that way. And tell him food will be ready soon."

Peter heard the commotion and opened his door just as Cassidy reached it. He'd apparently just finished tugging on a shirt, leaving his hair in a mess of curls much looser than hers.

"Hey again," he said softly, pointing to where she could deposit her bag next to his.

"I like the digs," she commented.

And she really did. His room was cozy as well and much more lived in than hers, even with her dog adding to the fray. The distinct scents of fabric cleaner and vanilla air freshener made her giggle as she eased herself into his desk chair, swinging her gaze over the slew of movie posters on the wall. Every book and collectible spoke of how he was still so connected to the side of him that was a normal kid and made Cassidy realize that maybe that departure didn't have to be so cut and dry.

Turning back to where he was perched on the bottom bunk of his bed, she drawled, "So you were asking about my outfit earlier?"

Peter leapt up, a startled smile crinkling his eyes as he rushed over to clap a hand on her mouth and push the door almost shut. They shared a poignant glance before he sheepishly removed his hand and laughed.

"I know you're comfortable talking about this but you have to be more careful!"

She let her eyes roll skyward but conceded in a whisper, "I know, you're right. Look, my answer is that I just wear any of the black clothing I have and make sure to have a bandana over my mouth because, you know, smoke."

"So you look like a bank robber?" He was still towering over her seated form and used the leverage appropriately. "Or a ninja?"

"If I blend in with the bad guys they're less likely to attack me first." The desk chair squeaked as she leaned back to beam at him again, earning her a lopsided grin in return.

"Guess you do things a little differently than most superheroes."

Aunt May halted the conversation for the second time that evening by announcing that dinner was ready and after many profuse thanks the pair retreated to his room to drop back into conversation, this time while sprawled on the floor.

..

Neither of them noticed the small circle in the very top corner of Peter's window or how it flashed a red light every sixty seconds, and they hadn't been down the back alley of the apartment complex to discover the van parked there.

The man in the driver's seat called loudly to the tall man sprawled in the back with a laptop. "Audio still picking up?"

"Yeah, they're back in the room. It's definitely the right ones, they can't shut up about superhero suits."

"So we got em, let's go," the bulky man in the passenger seat grumbled. "The sooner the better."

He was met with a chorus of no's, intermittent with static and the excited rambling of the targets through the microphone. "I told you, we're waiting a while so Ross doesn't get suspicious."

"I better get a good payday for stalking some kids."

 **P.S. – I'm using Peter's bedroom seen in Homecoming for reference here, though it does differ from the one in Civil War, just fyi. Hope y'all are enjoying this as much as I am!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Important Note: In this story,** **Peter Parker is a senior in high school and is of** _ **legal**_ **age** **!**

 **I realized I hadn't mentioned this previously and it's very vital to keep in mind for how the story unfolds. Now that that's out of the way, enjoy!**

She had only left for a moment.

Peter had shown up at her door bright and early as they agreed, his Spiderman suit hidden neatly under day clothes, and she'd let him in to play with Rambo while she finished up her morning routine of tidying and freshening up. Washing some new fruits, sending a quick text to her mother, and making sure her laptop was charging were all done as she stepped around the boy and the dog now romping on the floor.

She smiled down at them and called, "I'm gonna grab a couple things from the back room and then I'll be ready to go," and didn't bother check if they heard her. When she reemerged with bobbypins and a baseball cap in tow, however, Rambo was busy eating from his dish in the corner and Peter was nowhere to be seen.

Until she turned to find his face upside down and inches from hers.

She hid her yelp by clamping both hands over her mouth, which also prevented them from taking a swing at the body suspended from the ceiling. "Peter, what the hell?!"

"Sorry!" Even at the inverted angle his innocent expression was clear and he quickly dropped himself right side up. "I was just warming up a bit."

"Well I'm still used to most people being on the ground. You sure you weren't showing off?"

"Just because my powers are weirder than yours doesn't mean I'm showing off."

She shook her head and settled the cap over her ponytail before quipping, "Let's head out."

But when she made it to the front door it was clear that there were no footsteps echoing hers and she turned to see Peter sliding open the window on the far wall. With one leg already on the ledge outside he finally swiveled and noticed her distance, too.

Cassidy leaned onto the door for support as she burst out laughing at the absurdity and he followed suit, his own laughs echoing as he closed the window and jogged back over to her.

"Sorry, sorry, I just thought it'd be quicker."

"Here I am thinking we'll go out the front door like normal people," she heaved between trying to catch her breath, "but you're trying to crawl down the side of the building!"

Peter tugged at his collar and then the doorknob, ushering them into the hallway as a grin still played on his mouth. "I'm not used to having someone else with me for this."

"We'll get better at working together eventually. Where to first, maestro?"

Turns out his answer was more complicated than 'not too far' because they trekked all the way to Astoria Park only to veer into a set of alleyways that opened up into an abandoned lot with a few trees, complete with dumpsters and fences and plenty of other obstacles.

Peter took the time to slip on the red mask that had been in his pocket before stripping off the rest of his clothes until the vibrant spandex ensemble was the only thing that remained. Cassidy eventually averted her eyes and tied the folded bandana so that it hung from her nose to her neck and when they faced each other once more, Peter giggled.

"I like it," he commented with a gesture to his own covered mouth, "definitely looks like a bad guy."

"On the other hand, you don't look bad at all. You've almost got a Captain America thing going."

As he stuffed his backpack in a corner and webbed it to the wall, he exclaimed, "Thanks! I don't know if that's what Mr. Stark was going for 'cause mine has brighter colors, but it did look super cool when I was fighting him. Captain America, I mean."

Cassidy nodded thoughtfully as she pulled herself through a few stretches. Peter tried to limber up as well but quickly moved on to jogging in circles around her, once again under the pretense of warming up.

"Ok Spiderthing, what else can you do besides walk on the ceiling?"

He simply tilted his head at her, shot a web straight upwards, and yanked himself into the sky. His whoops and hollers echoed between the buildings as he jumped from wall to wall and back, doing flips and shooting new lines to swing from. All at once he landed too close in front of Cassidy, whose mouth was still agape with fascination.

"Wow, that's actually pretty cool." She laughed and took a few steps back, giving him a once-over from his feet to the webs still hanging high above them. "You're kinda the real deal."

"Kinda?"

"You weren't just a one-hit wonder in Germany, you've got real skill. We're gonna kick ass."

"Thanks! I think." Peter swung an arm wide toward the space in the lot behind him. "But anyway, your turn."

She took confident strides to the very center of the patch of grass and briefly closed her eyes to concentrate. Having already noted the smoke stacks of a nearby factory, she abruptly threw out an arm toward it and watched as the pillar of smoke bent to her will, funneling down and shrouding her in its familiar deep grayness.

Next she tossed the thick cloud around Peter and though she could no longer see him, she absolutely heard him.

"Nooo way! This is the coolest! You can just do whatever you want with it?"

By way of direct answer she concentrated the smoke around his knees and balled her fists and while it wasn't an iron grip, the smoke dragged at his legs until they were shifting toward each other.

Peter was elated but hadn't run out of questions. "That's weirdly awesome! And didn't you say you can create smoke, too? You could make a whole mountain of smoke just barrel into people."

"I can only create it under pressure and no matter how much you could try and bug me right now, it wouldn't be enough."

Her eyes were uncovered but his were not, so she couldn't detect the gleam in them as he observed her intently. A stray breeze puffed away the last few wisps of smoke that had been hanging between them and Cassidy found Peter walking toward her to take their place.

With arms folded as he tried to get more serious, he said, "There is one thing we need to practice together before you start kicking and punching stuff."

"Together?"

"You can't fly. Well I mean I can't either, but I can swing with my webs. And you can't run that fast."

She tipped her cap up to look him more squarely in the face and was thankful for the bandana for hiding that the corners of her mouth were lifting. "So you wanna drag me along with you? That high in the air? Count me in."

"Wait, you're ok with it?" He waited for her nod and then shook out the jitters from his limbs. "Ok, I'm just gonna…"

His arm jutted out to encircle her but his touch was still hesitant, barely grazing against her skin as he slid her body closer, watching her all the while. Surprisingly sturdy muscles came to rest against Cassidy's side and she was the one to make the move to grip her hands strategically on him. Only when his arm tightened around her did she nod again, trying to ignore how comfortingly warm he was against her.

"I'm ready if you are, Spiderman." With a nudge, she added, "And I don't know how often you pick up chicks like this, but maybe take it slow at first, alright?"

Peter had laughed at the use of his correct name but his voice cracked again as he faltered at her next question. "You think I use the suit to get girls? I wouldn't want to, um, that's not what it's for, so…"

A dumpster lid clanged shut like a gong and snapped Cassidy back to attention. With a stomp to the ground she called, "Alright, I'll stop throwing you off guard. Let's just catch some air!"

"Ok! Hang on!"

Air, however, was the last thing Cassidy would catch in her lungs. The lurch at takeoff and quick ascent to the New York skyline left her gasping and grasping tighter to Peter until the way her mouth hung open in delight eventually allowed her to breathe. They swung in long loops from apartment complexes to construction sites and Peter's lone arm kept their momentum up, tossing and releasing webs in an incredible display of strength that she was sure could catapult them to the few clouds dotting the sky.

It was the world's most raucous rollercoaster and she was loving every stomach-lifting moment. When she could finally tear her eyes away from the view, she called out to Peter to make sure her words would carry.

"God, this is the greatest! How do you ever come down?"

"Believe me, I don't want to sometimes," Peter laughed. "I do eventually get tired though."

Case in point he landed them on top of a tall building like a jet, both of them running until the momentum slowed. Mold coated the bottom of her shoes but Cassidy didn't care, she was too busy catching her breath through her bandana when Peter came and stood next to her to admire the cityscape.

"Does D.C. look like this?" he questioned. "I mean, would you know?"

"I've been in tall buildings but never gotten a view like this. Even the Washington Monument isn't as open as being on a roof somewhere."

Peter laughed and stretched his arms forward, cracking a few joints that sounded like they needed it. "Yeah, it'd be too dangerous to be on the outside of that."

The sun directly overhead left no room for slanting shadows as it cooked the two teenagers where they stood. Peter clapped his hands suddenly, startling the few pigeons that had come to rest beside them, and unceremoniously grabbed Cassidy's waist again.

"Let's, uh, fly around a bit more to cool off."

She had no objection except to quirk a brow at his haste and let herself be hauled with him as they surged toward the light pole his web was attached to. He swung them upside down around it which earned a joyous yell from Cassidy and then he steadily webbed them higher and higher toward the next tallest structure: the Queens water tower.

As they paused momentarily on the scaffolding of an adjacent building, Peter crowed, "Remember how you said I was showing off earlier?"

"What about it?"

His answer came as he shot a reinforced web onto the water tower. "Well this is me showing off for real."

He couldn't hide the playful twist of his features through the mask as they swung forward and there was a twang to his voice that she would come to recognize as dangerous for her.

They plunged lower and lower into the concrete jungle until physics dictated that they swoop up again where the East River came back into view. It was still in the distance and Cassidy was about to ask Peter if they could make it all the way over there or even across the river itself someday when they reached the peak of the current swing and Peter shot another web at the next building.

And promptly dropped her.

She plummeted as his body wrenched away, air rushing gale-force around her and whipping away the screams tearing from her throat. Smoke poured from her flailing hands as she hopelessly grasped at something, anything to break her deadly tumble but she continued to fall like a smoking jet shot out of the sky. Coherent words refused to come, only continuous shrieks until all of a sudden her body slammed bridal-style into a pair of arms and she found herself swinging horizontally once more.

"Yes! Gotcha!" Peter cried and let out another elated holler.

Cassidy was too tense to do anything though she had a whole range of reactions at the ready, from punching his front teeth in to making them collide with her own.

Smoke was still cloaking them entirely when they landed and apparently it was thick enough that Peter thought it was safe to take his mask off, leaving his hair a ruffled mess to rival Cassidy's as she yanked off her own cap and bandana. After a few moments of catching their breath, he figured the coast was clear to brave the waters of an explanation.

With a laugh burgeoning behind his mouth, he said, "Your face…wow. I didn't think it was gonna be that bad."

Cassidy spun toward him, the cloud of smoke swirling darker. "That was on _purpose_?"

"Sorry, sorry." He sheepishly held his hands up, though a grin was still plastered on his features. "But you mess with me all the time!"

"Remind me to try dropping you off a building next time."

He sobered up at her sharp words, eyes pooling with concern as he thought better against breaking the contact barrier at that moment. Leaving space as wide as the blue sky above them, he softly said, "Hey, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to scare you that bad."

She tried to be mad at him, she really did. But his head hung down as his voice raised in pitch and he looked so damn crushed, so genuinely worried about broken trust. There was a sincerity to the twist of his lips that took root in her chest and she dragged a heavy hand over her face to wipe away the sour expression, leaving only a reluctant smile.

She really hadn't been hurt, anyway, just scared out of her wits. No big deal.

"Hey, I'm the one that should be moping and I'm not even that mad."

Peter beamed at her and while they laughed it off, he moved to scratch his neck. "So it looks like I did get you to create smoke after all."

She stopped cold in shock before throwing a punch at his shoulder, which he blocked easily. "You little shit! That's what all this was about?"

"You basically challenged me when you said I couldn't make you do it."

"How about I challenge you to buy me ice cream while we go back to the practice spot?" She stuck out her arm indignantly and let him come to her, not caring how many limbs she had to entangle to secure herself this time.

"Well you're easy to please," Peter quipped as he pulled on his mask.

They swooped away again in the now familiar routine of bobbing up and down in the open air and Peter, as promised, briefly paused by an ice cream vendor to get them both sweet treats for compensation. By the time the correct alley came back into view Cassidy had wiped the slate clean as far as Peter was concerned and was ready to start fresh.

All she knew was that the ground was still solid, the sun was shining brightly, and an apartment nearby had started blaring upbeat Michael Jackson songs from their open windows.

"Well I don't know about you," she mused, "but I'm ready to get some real practice in."

"You bet."

The knot trying to wind its way into one of Cassidy's lower back muscles was easily dislodged when she really got her body moving, kicking and punching and slashing the air as she drew upon memories of past criminals to spar against. But contrary to popular belief it can sometimes be harder to hit nothing rather than have something for your limbs to land against, so she found herself being exhausted too early in each sequence of movements.

"Hey Pe- uh, Spiderman!"

Though he wasn't immediately in view, Peter swung in from a telephone pole and skidded in the dirt to stop in front of her. "Good catch with the name, Gray. What's up?"

Miming each motion, she asked, "You got anything I can kick or punch against?"

"That's not me?"

"Stark didn't tell me to keep a punching bag safe, I'd have to hold back with you."

"Ok, um, good point." He strolled over to the nearest dumpster and only had to open the lid to find something useful. Holding a mattress high above his head in one hand, he called, "How's this! It was laying on top and I don't think it's too dirty."

All she had to do was nod and he threw it at her and after staggering back from the weight of the throw, she leaned it up against a wall and delivered a roundhouse kick to the direct center.

Peter's little gasp was empowering, to say the least. "Please for the love of anything never do that to me."

She stared at him curiously and with a nervous chuckle he lifted into the air to leave Cassidy to her own devices, though not without swinging back by now and again to make her laugh echo among the brick buildings.

* * *

"Have you ever set off a smoke detector?"

"You kiddin' me?" Cassidy retorted. "My neighbors and parents hated me for weeks because of how often it would go off when I first got my powers."

She and Peter were sprawled in her living room passing the time before sundown by playing a rapid-fire Q&A game, covering everything from childhood favorites to more recent embarrassing moments. The carpet underneath her wasn't plush enough for any viable support but she wrote it off as an exercise to strengthen her back muscles.

Rubbing a pensive hand over her mouth, she continued, "What about you and spiders? Ever try to like help them build little webs?"

"Gross, no! Real spiders give me the creeps." But after being reminded of his webs, Peter slung one at his water bottle across the room and pulled it to him, taking a swig as he glanced at her window for the third time in five minutes. "Ok I think it's dark enough outside and I was just thinking we should get a head start anyway. Wanna go?"

"Lead the way, Chosen One."

Peter nimbly leapt to his feet and swiveled to offer her a hand, which she gladly accepted. But she felt the definitive slack loosen his grip as he registered her words. "Do you have to keep on with the names like that? I'm just…you've basically got the same 'Stark Internship' as me."

Cassidy bounced a few times in place to give her fidgety excitement something to do. "Ok yeah sorry, force of habit. Wanna use the window this time?"

"Can we? Cool!" Peter perked up instantly and they clambered to the far side of the room.

After his mask and her bandana and cap were all slipped on to conceal them once again, Cassidy said whatever little mental prayers usually worked in her favor for good luck and slid open the window to peer into the twilight.

"So I'm thinking I'll lower you to the ground and then climb down," Peter suggested and then laughed as she gave him a wary glare. "Hey! I promise I won't drop you. Trust me on this, ok? I've held up a bus like this before."

The web he cast around her wrist wasn't particularly slimy like she expected but holy shit was it strong. Peter was very careful, wrapping it twice around her knuckles and back down to the wrist again and she flexed her hand to test the dexterity before climbing out onto the window sill and giving Peter a thumbs up. He let out a bit of slack, allowing her to rappel down floor by floor between the softly-lit windows of unsuspecting citizens until she backflipped the last few feet to land solidly on her own.

"Nice landing!"

Cassidy looked up as she peeled off the web, following the sound of Peter's forceful whisper, in time to see him crawl down a few floors before performing an elaborate triple forward flip to land beside her.

She rolled her eyes, he shrugged, and they traipsed off into the shadows looking for the right kind of trouble – the kind they could stop.

Ground level didn't suffice for long; not only was it strange to walk along the sidewalk like civilians but an aerial vantage point was so much easier to work with. It took longer than they wanted to find the right crime to stop but that didn't mean they weren't useful in the meantime. Peter rescued a cat from a tree, Cassidy returned a dropped wallet after two blocks, and together they gave directions to a young drunk couple, though who knows if they even understood a word.

Finally the crash of glass breaking snapped both their heads toward the park a few blocks away and Cassidy easily reattached herself to Peter before he took off. They swung and landed behind an abandoned building just out of view of the commotion and since Cassidy's clothes were darker, she was elected to peek around the corner.

"Two guys," she said breathlessly, "vandalizing cars and bikes parked along the street next to the playground."

"An even fight? Not used to those," Peter muttered, standing to do one last web check.

"Should be easy then."

The night was so smoggy that it didn't take much effort for Cassidy to wrangle enough smoke to veil Peter completely, as was their plan. He strutted out under her cloud cover and Cassidy's eyes crinkled as she grinned with pride under her bandana.

The gruffer of the two men was busy barking at the other while Peter approached. "You can tell the car has an alarm because of the alarm sticker, dumbass!"

"Y'know," Peter pondered aloud as he was still cloaked by the smoke, "sometimes they put fake stickers like that on cars just to scare away guys like you. Like those 'beware of dog' signs."

The vandals frantically looked left and right, searching for the voice coming out of the night, only to have a web sling in and yank a stolen laptop out of the gruffer man's hands. He cried out angrily just as Peter stepped fully into view with his hands on his hips like a disappointed father.

"I'm giving you one chance, man. Step away from the cars."

"Did I fucking ask you, punk?"

Gravel skid against Cassidy's knee as she lifted from her crouched position and sauntered to stand beside Peter. "I don't think they asked, but whaddya say we give 'em an answer?"

Peter laughed appreciatively but was cut off by the other man finally speaking up, though he was no more cordial than his partner. "Why'd you drag some bitch into this? It's not as fun beatin' on girls."

"Punk and bitch, we've gotta re-register our hero names," Cassidy remarked, but the vandals had had enough.

Quick as lightning the gruffer man lunged around the car and Peter jumped away only to turn and reengage when he had a good position to shoot webs from. Cassidy wanted to watch the fight unfold but had her own to deal with as the lanky man rushed at her and she braced for battle with a cloud of smoke.

A phrase used in every sport is that you'll perform how you practice and it was proven correct again as Cassidy grunted with every move she executed. Her right hook and left kick caught the man by surprise as it hit him through the smoke but as wind swept it away it turned out this wasn't his first roadside rodeo. Blow after blow he blocked or met in return. Puffing smoke allowed her a sporadic punch to his chest or face now and again. The scrape of shoes against asphalt came in rhythm with each violent twist of their bodies.

After blocking a hard double hit in a row she leapt onto the hood of the car to take the fight mobile. She kicked from the higher ground until the lanky man had followed her up and then back to the pavement on the other side of the car, though it was clear that with each strike she landed he was weakening.

It was all going swimmingly until Cassidy glanced over her shoulder to check on Peter, though it probably saved his life.

The glint of silver flashing from the gruffer man's pocket ripped a warning from Cassidy's throat. "Knife!"

Peter heeded and webbed the weapon away along with jerking the gruff man to the ground, but when he turned to thank Cassidy the eyes on his suit widened.

"He's got a bat, Gray!"

There was no wind left on earth. There couldn't have been, not after the way the bat crashed into Cassidy's lower abdomen and she skid onto the ground, wheezing and clutching her own flesh to try and tear away the throbbing pain. The world tried to slow down but she wouldn't let it, shaking her head as she focused on a nearby streetlamp shining its one bulb onto their fight.

Peter rushed over, screaming "Hey!" as he ripped the bat away and delivered a kick that sent the lanky man flying.

Cassidy was still out of breath and so writhed as she tried in vain to tell Peter about the gruff man stomping over to him, only to watch in horror as he slugged Peter straight in the mouth. Peter staggered backwards until he nearly stepped on Cassidy, which gave her the strength to grab his forearm and pull herself up despite the panic gripping her chest.

She billowed smoke toward the two men, dark and thick as the night itself, effectively choking them and buying herself and Peter a precious few seconds to regroup.

"I…I'll web 'em," he managed.

Cassidy had her own labored breathing to deal with but was miles away from throwing in the towel. "I'll punch."

Under a tidal wave of smoke they advanced toward the vandals and without even waiting for perfect aim Peter shot webs at them, luckily hitting a limb each. Cassidy ran and elbowed the gruff man's chest to bring him to his knees before boxing his ears so hard that he sank down further.

Peter was busy wrapping the lanky man mummy-style and then trudged over to help Cassidy finish neutralizing the other vandal and when it was all said and done, both men were webbed to a telephone pole with possible concussions that should probably be looked at.

By someone who cared, that is.

What started out as Peter grasping Cassidy's elbow soon slid into them holding hands and dragging each other to a nearby alley for a brief respite from any prying eyes. They hunkered behind a van with tinted windows and Cassidy finally let her weary muscles tremble as the adrenaline started to fade away.

Peter tore off his mask and immediately spit blood onto the concrete, an alarming bright red patch against the colorless scale of the night. That red blended into his gloves as he wiped his mouth and then he startled Cassidy by turning sharply toward her.

"How's your stomach? Can you breathe?"

She wanted to laugh hysterically at his concern but settled for crunching the gravel as she sat back on her heels. "Can you?"

"It's just a cut," he grinned wryly on the side still oozing blood. "My jaw's not dislocated or anything."

"And I think the guy missed my ribs with the bat. It'll just be a hell of a bruise."

Despite downplaying their injuries, their matching laughter was still pained and the unspoken agreement to get the hell out of dodge hauled both of them to their feet in slow motion and they swung into the air in an awkward acrobatic display.

..

The atmosphere in Cassidy's apartment was chilly, but whether that was from leaving the air conditioning on too long or a strange relief that they were home alive and well, she couldn't tell. Even after lumbering in the window and ignoring whatever ungodly numbers were on the clock they knew it still wasn't time to call it a night.

Peter refused to be mended until Cassidy put ice on her bruised stomach, a point of contention that almost overheated with their stress levels.

"You've still got blood literally dripping out of your mouth, Peter."

"And it'll take you no time at all to just get an ice pack!" he countered, moving himself out of reach. "What if you've got internal bleeding or something?"

Despite disagreeing with him, she resigned herself to throw together an ice pack from the kitchen. "If I've got internal bleeding this won't even help. But look, see? Got the ice. I need you to grab the athletic tape out of my bag and help me wrap –"

Cassidy was cut off by Peter bluntly shooting a web to adhere the pack to her bared stomach and she looked up in shock to be met by his small smile. "That stuff will wear off in a couple hours and you'll need to change it by then anyway."

"Well, thanks," she offered before waving toward the couch. "Now sit down so I can at least look at your lip, don't want Mr. Stark to think I'm doing a shitty job."

She should have known from the immediate radio silence that something was wrong but was too busy pulling out her best attempt at a first aid kit to notice. With gauze pads and a wet rag laid out beside her, she dropped down next to him and took a good look at the cut and the blood that was just starting to congeal.

"I don't think you'll need stitches," she laughed, "which is good because we'd be going to a hospital for that. Go ahead and wipe it gently."

The blood left pale streaks like a river of clay as he swiped at his cheek and after handing him the gauze to dry, Cassidy ventured to say something that had been on her mind since escaping the alley.

"Now I'm not gonna say that we shouldn't team up to fight but it definitely makes it harder when we're worried about each other, looking over shoulders and whatnot."

Peter deadpanned, "You're only worried like Mr. Stark is. It's just your job."

His hostility was unfamiliar and briefly put Cassidy in a chokehold before she shook her head to free herself. "Hey! I care, I just…I don't even know you that well yet!"

"Have you even tried to, besides asking random questions?" The rag was now discarded and he finally met her gaze. "All you do is hold it over me that I'm your 'target'. I have enough trouble getting Mr. Stark to think I'm not a normal kid but it almost feels worse that you can't seem to think of me as even a normal person outside of Spiderman."

A deep sigh wound its way out of Cassidy's chest as she simmered in his accusation and she felt the fight taken completely out of her. A few responses flitted to and from her lips until she stumbled on the one that felt right.

"I guess I'm so used to focusing on the part of me that's Gray Blitz that I just assumed you'd tried to ignore being a regular person as much as I do."

"That makes no sense."

She scoffed. "I know. And I am sorry, by the way."

"Are you sure?" His anger, righteous though it may have been, still stung. "Then maybe don't spend so much time talking about the job with Mr. Stark. Just be –"

"What?" she cut him off this time, her own temper flaring up briefly. "Just be a normal teenager with superpowers who fights crime sometimes? You do that too, I just happen to be getting paid for the extra responsibility of making sure _your_ famous ass isn't targeted."

He tugged a heavy hand carefully around his cut before his palms fell open exasperatedly. "Can we share it then? Can we both look after each other? I've fought with the big leagues but people will still notice another superhero."

The silence that crept between them in the wake of the confessions was uncomfortable but Cassidy waded through it to reach her own conclusion.

"We're not sharing the money," she muttered with a begrudging smile. When Peter's gaze darted around her face and found the sincerity he was looking for, she continued, "Yeah ok, I promise to stop the job talk. You just have to…"

Peter smirked when she couldn't finish the sentence. "See? I don't even do anything wrong. Let's just protect each other equally."

"You have to stow the ego, how about that?"

He gave her outstretched hand a high-five and even through both their gloves the touch left a spark. The longest day and night on record seemed to be coming to a close and Cassidy leaned farther into her plush couch as Peter stood to let himself out. Evidently he wasn't quite done because just before he made it to the door, he swiveled back around.

Wringing his mask in his hands, he said softly, "I know you get as scared as me."

"What?" How he could make himself seem so vulnerable on a dime was a mystery to Cassidy, but it absolutely got her attention.

"You're even more eager than I am to get out there and kick ass but I know you know it's scary to think how easily we could be seriously injured."

"That's why I try not to," she brushed it off but nodded to let him know he'd hit the nail on the head. "These powers are the coolest thing that's ever happened to me and probably to you, too."

"You have no idea."


End file.
